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Six Warning Signs You've Outgrown Your Software

  • Six Warning Signs You've Outgrown Your Software-

    Collaboration

    Platforms must encourage collaboration.

    Older solutions might allow staff members to view information or to perform certain tasks, but too often, it's strictly a one-to-one interaction. There's no sharing or collaboration baked into the solution. Most workers understand the benefits of being able to share and edit documents, and move ideas through the company faster and accurately. The generation now entering the workforce expects such sharing functionality (Google Docs, for example), and companies without modern collaborative tools will seem outdated to prospective employees.

    SMB managers should perform their due diligence to judge if the gains that come from replacing an outdated solution with a modern alternative are worth the initial costs. If only one of the "warning signs" is applicable, the solution might be acceptable and could only need updates. Once several signs come together, it's time to consider a replacement solution that will boost productivity and collaboration.

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Six Warning Signs You've Outgrown Your Software

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  • Six Warning Signs You've Outgrown Your Software-7

    Collaboration

    Platforms must encourage collaboration.

    Older solutions might allow staff members to view information or to perform certain tasks, but too often, it's strictly a one-to-one interaction. There's no sharing or collaboration baked into the solution. Most workers understand the benefits of being able to share and edit documents, and move ideas through the company faster and accurately. The generation now entering the workforce expects such sharing functionality (Google Docs, for example), and companies without modern collaborative tools will seem outdated to prospective employees.

    SMB managers should perform their due diligence to judge if the gains that come from replacing an outdated solution with a modern alternative are worth the initial costs. If only one of the "warning signs" is applicable, the solution might be acceptable and could only need updates. Once several signs come together, it's time to consider a replacement solution that will boost productivity and collaboration.

Small to medium-sized businesses that want to thrive need to have an impeccable sense of timing. For example, if a company has a product out in the market, but the needs of the market's users unexpectedly shift, then adjustments need to be made. Companies of this size also need to understand when partnerships are the right move, and when it's best to "go it alone." SMBs require a sense of timing when it comes to the effectiveness of their technology solutions. In today's data-driven and mobile-powered world, it is essential that companies have strong, customizable and modern tech solutions at their disposal. Despite their importance, many SMBs let their tech solutions languish and turn into outdated relics that can't offer the necessary speed, collaboration and functionality for the modern user or customer.

So how exactly do SMBs know when their software solutions are outdated or on their way to obsolescence? In this slideshow, Doug Wilson, managing partner of custom software service Breakthrough Technologies, provides six warning signs.